NEW YORK CITY, NY – Police have apprehended a man suspected of a series of unprovoked stabbings that took place in Queens, New York City. The suspect, identified as 27-year-old Jermain Rigueur, was detained Wednesday evening and charged with three counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault, one count of attempted assault, and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to NYPD. An ongoing investigation is in progress.
Police had launched a search for the offender earlier that day, following what NYPD Police Commissioner Edward Caban referred to during a press briefing as “senseless, unprovoked attacks.” The respective victims, who were unrelated, shared similar accounts of being assaulted without reason. Surveillance footage showed the perpetrator carrying a hunting knife shortly after one of these attacks. Law enforcement confirmed that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
The assaults date back to Jan.8, when a 61-year-old man was attacked in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood. Thereafter, similar incidents were reported in the same vicinity. On Tuesday, a 34-year-old woman was hospitalized after being stabbed while walking home.
Three subsequent stabbings occurred within an hour on Wednesday morning. Around 7:30 a.m., a 74-year-old man was stabbed in the back as he escorted his wife to work. The attacker then assaulted a 41-year-old man in his abdomen. Later, a 36-year-old man engaging with the suspect over a tussle for a bus seat was also stabbed upon exiting the bus.
NYPD officials have confirmed a link between all incidents. Additionally, they are investigating the suspect’s potential involvement in a stabbing that occurred on a subway train in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Wednesday morning.
Officers were subsequently bolstered within the subway system and Queens’ 113th Precinct in response to the attacks.